The fast-growing East Asia and Pacific region has narrowed gender gaps in several areas, most notably in education and health. However, gaps in economic opportunity and influence in society have proven particularly persistent.Read More »

Social policies designed to protect
female workers and promote workplace equality have
controversial effects on labor market outcomes. Working-hour
restrictions and... Show More + mandated maternity benefits help to
safeguard women's family responsibilities and ensure
their physical security, but these regulations can raise the
cost to firms of hiring women. Equal pay and equal
opportunity measures potentially increase women's
relative earnings and reduce occupational segregation, but
they are difficult to implement and enforce. Finally,
although not explicitly designed to target women's
well-being or equality, seemingly "gender-blind"
policies can also yield different outcomes for men and
women. This study presents a theoretical context for
understanding the impact of these various labor market
policies on women's employment, wages, and working
hours. Existing empirical evidence of policy effects and
current policy incidence are both reviewed. The study
concludes by reporting new empirical evidence from three
developing country case studies. Show Less -